RMGO Goes To War Against The GOP

The three RMGO-backed Senate candidates in Jefferson County are Tony Sanchez, Laura Woods and Tim Neville. Sanchez faces Nicolais in the GOP primary for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Andy Kerr, while Woods faces Sias in the GOP primary for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Rachel Zenzinger. Neville so far has no primary opponent, and is expected to face Democrat Jeanne Nicholson in November.

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners claims in its Facebook post that the party is allowing “campaign operatives” for “anti-gun” candidates Sias and Nicolais to work in the Jeffco office and have “exclusive access to key data” that could give them an advantage in the June 24 primary. Brown also claimed in a fundraising letter that the party is “giving preferential treatment to the candidates who refused to fill out our survey.”

Nicolais, who is a member of the NRA, pointed out that he didn’t bother to fill out the survey for the same reason he didn’t fill out the AFL-CIO survey: He wasn’t going to get the endorsement. He said he received the survey after the gun group already endorsed Sanchez.

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Not that it's really anything new, but Dudley Brown of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is again causing trouble.

In an email sent to RMGO members and supports this morning, Brown stated that:

RMGO-PAC has received word from multiple sources that the Jefferson County Republican Party is now turning away volunteers that openly support conservatives in the area

If that sounds strange to you, it should. But he goes on to explain that he doesn't mean ALL conservatives…

The party is asking volunteers, at the door, who they are supporting in contested State Senate primaries, and if they answer "Laura Woods", "Tony Sanchez" and "Tim Neville" (RMGO-PAC endorsed candidates), the volunteers are asked to leave.

That's a pretty bold accusation. And if true, could lead to some interesting GOP intra-party drama come County Assembly, which is on March 22.

Another interesting thing about this is that the reason volunteers would be showing up right now is because the Jefferson GOP has asked them to. From their website:

We need your help with Post-Caucus review and data entry March 5 – March 12. With 257 precincts to process, there is a lot of work to be done.

Even if you can spare just a few hours or work all day, we can use you. General Office and phone answering help is needed too.

So, the party is asking for volunteers to help with data related to assembly delegates and denying access to that data to anyone affiliated with certain candidates while allowing access to others. And according to Brown, they aren't being coy about it:

In fact, RMGO-PAC's Political Director, Joe Neville, just got off the phone with Party Chair Bill Tucker, who confirmed this report.

Here's another interesting reveal. It seems that the other candidates mentioned in the email, Mario Nicolais and Lang Sias, failed to receive the RMGO's endorsement because they refused to fill out the candidate survey, which is enough, apparently, for them to become "anti-gun" in the eyes of Brown and his organization.

The party is allowing campaign operatives for anti-gun State Senate candidates Mario Nicolais and Lang Sias to not only work in this office, but have exclusive access to key data that could help give them an unfair advantage in the upcoming primary election.

…

The party is giving preferential treatment to the candidates who refused to fill out our survey.

So if the vote of no confidence in GOP State Chair Ryan Call weren't enough for you, this little soap opera should help to keep you entertained.

About IndyNinja

I support People, not Parties.
I support Ideas, not Ideologies.
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I find it fascinating that it is the inherent selfishness and self-interest of the various factions of the Republican party that is tearing the party apart from the inside. The wingnuts are doing far more damage to the GOP than Democrats could ever hope to accomplish. It is fitting.

Well, as someone who sees the value is qualified and articulate opposing viewpoints, this kindof stuff makes me angry. Half of the debate is a no-show lately (since the Tea Party took over) and it hurts our public policy as a whole.

Indeed. Our public policy is no longer a compromise between sincere but differing factions. It is comprised of whatever can escape the obstructionist congress or what limited things the president can do on his own.

Look to Nelson Mandelas' presidency for a precedent to the attempt by the right to thwart any progress by this elected leader they hate so much.

Great independent analysis. Our politics should be just like the Colorado Senate where the majority, by one vote, sends all the legislation proposed by the opposition to the kill committee from which bills do not return. Blame that on the Tea Party too?

Our politics should be just like the Colorado Senate where the majority, by one vote, sends all the legislation proposed by the opposition to the kill committee from which bills do not return.

You seem to have missed a word in there, allow me to fix it for you.

Our politics should be just like the Colorado Senate where the majority, by one vote, sends all the BAD legislation proposed by the opposition to the kill committee from which bills do not return.

When the Republican's propose laws that make sense, they are usually passed with broad support. When they propose the exact same bad ideas, year after year and bring no witnesses or evidence to support them, then they fail quickly, as they should.

The fact is, only about 10% of all Colorado legislation is supported/opposed on party lines. So yes, I think that is a great standard and one the US House should strive for.

Dudley Brown/Neville report that multiple sources are confirming this to be true. They even gave the name of one source — Bill Tucker. Did you try calling him before posting this article to confirm the account?

Your presumption that Ryan Call is telling the truth and Dudley Brown is lying is pretty presumptious, don't you think? Or do you really think because the GOP is asking for volunteers on their website, that this can't be true? That's pretty naive

I think Dudley Brown is onto something here. Ryan Call and Karl Rove are doing everything they can to rid Colorado of the Tea Party problem.

Your presumption that Ryan Call is telling the truth and Dudley Brown is lying

Um. I don't think I have presumed any such thing.

I am simply sharing information that I received with some commentary. I am not a reporter, nor do I claim to be. So I am not sure what it is that you expect from me.

I think you are reading more out of my commentary that was intended. I am simply enjoying the show, not judging the actors. It is totally possible that Brown is telling the truth. I wouldn't put it past either party to give a leg up to their preferred candidates in the primaries in subtle ways. However, it is equally likely that Dudley Brown is sensationalizing and exagurating, as he has a well-earned reputation for doing on a regular basis.

If I had any point at all, it's that the GOP is a trainwreck right now and would be fun to watch if it wasn't such a depressing statement about the state of our society.

I didn't know that 'tact" was ever actionable, Elliot. So sue me, because occasionally, I'm tactful.

Dudley Brown has his own sphere of influence and paid-for legislators, most of which worked in the Hudak recall effort.

My take on the current split is that, since all of the gun laws are composting away in the State "kill" committee , and Brown's big lawsuit against the State of Colorado is going nowhere, and even Pueblo's backflow preventer, VictorHead, is now crusading for voter suppression laws, that there may be an "agenda divide" in the Jefferson County Republican Party. Gun law reversals are seen as a dead-end effort for the near future. RMGO's Dudley B. disagrees.

For most other Republicans and conservatives with more than one issue to pursue, voter suppression is really a top priority for the upcoming elections.

With this kind of activity from JeffCo HQ, to stifle the fringe (is it happening in other counties too?), along w/Owen Hill doing a slow burn over the back room dealings of the turd blossom …. stand back! It's gonna blow!